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Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#171

Post by huffmsa »

hanniabu wrote: post #151
yaur wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe that the point of the theft charge was to get a search warrant, which they did. Regardless of if he “walks” on the theft charge it seems unlikely that the evidence they gathered when serving that warrant will be thrown out.

If they obtained these evidence illegally then it shouldn't be admissible in court.

U.S. v. Leon (1984) disagrees with you.

Added a "good faith" exception to the 4th amendment.

Meaning that, if the police were acting on a warrant they believe they obtained correctly, the evidence they collected usually is admissible.

In this case, both they and the judge thought disabling an unknown tracking device was probable cause to search for the device. During that search, the police found drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#173

Post by manigandham »

Nasrudith wrote: post #148
manigandham wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is actually committing a crime and going to prison somehow worse than being wrongfully accused and affected for life?

Impacts on life from prison that are independent of guilt or innocence? Now it may make them more /deserving/ but it would be worse for the guilty party. Granted it may be better for society (may because nothing stops the law from being messed up) so the question is worse for who?

The entire question is about guilt, not prison. Being actually guilty is very different from being innocent.

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#174

Post by manigandham »

tsimionescu wrote: post #152
manigandham wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is actually committing a crime and going to prison somehow worse than being wrongfully accused and affected for life?

Well, first of all it's a matter of numbers. Maybe hundreds of people's lives has been affected by being accused of a crime and being judged by the public eye with a presumption of guilt (some of these people may be guilty, some may not). However, hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from vastly over-exaggerated punishment for minor crimes. Even more, the current political climate suggests that some of what…

The crime is irrelevant. The discussion is whether you are guilty or not as an individual. If you willing commit a crime (regardless of how you feel about the law) then you are rightfully punished.

The problem is when you're innocent and still get punished anyway.

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#175

Post by bagacrap »

throwaway_tech wrote: post #154

Whats really troubling here is in the future, the police could get a warrant to track a vehicle, take the tracker off themselves, then go back to the courts claiming there is probable cause the suspect stole the tracker and get the warrant to search for their tracker in the suspects home and parents home...of course searching for whatever it is they really wanted but had no right to search for.

It has always been possible to fabricate evidence. What's troubling to me isn't the behavior of the police (who have done much worse) but the judge, who approved the warrant on ridiculous grounds, even though the judiciary is meant to be a check on the power of the executive.

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#176

Post by really3452 »

Nasrudith wrote: post #145
MaxfordAndSons wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And use a second car/taxi for your drug dealing If you are a drug dealer and find a police tracker on your car, it's time to stop being a drug dealer.

If part of an organized ring I wonder how well acting as a dedicated decoy would pay off strategically. Deliberately "cry wolf" with legitimate but shady looking shipments while other members carry out business. Of course that would make them and the organization lose their illegitimate income and the police likely outnumber them in particular even if there may be more smugglers total. Of course long term thinking an…

Right or wrong aside, this is already illegal where I live by the same reason it is illegal to be sober and leave a bar as the designated decoy (ie: pretend to be drunk to distract an officer watching the bar for drunk drivers).

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#177

Post by really3452 »

ALittleLight wrote: post #26
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #2

"They sought warrants to search Heuring’s home and the barn, alleging that there was probable cause that a crime had been committed — that Heuring had committed theft by taking off the GPS tracker. While searching the barn, they found the tracker in a bathroom locker. They also found evidence of drug use: a glass pipe. A subsequent search, granted by a judge based on the paraphernalia, uncovered bags of methamphetami…

I don't know. Investigators who are willing to stoop to "He stole our tracker" are surely not above exaggerating the evidence they've found. Why do we even bother with warrants if the police can get around them by tricking you into "stealing" something?

100% this. Original evidence found was probably planted.

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#178

Post by magduf »

h4waii wrote: post #164
tw04 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if I put a bumper sticker on your car and walk away, then come back 3 months later and ask for it back and you refuse, then that's stealing? Really? Because I'd say me putting something on your private property is vandalism. And you removing said vandalism is in no way a crime. They didn't have a warrant, and their device wasn't identified as belonging to the authorities. Just because the police vandalized your pr…

IANAL, but doesn't vandalism sorta need destruction or damage to happen? That level is destruction is open to interpretation, but it still requires some form of destruction or damage to be classified as vandalism.

Applying a bumper sticker is absolutely vandalism. It mars the paint finish. Paint on cars is surprisingly delicate, and is easily damaged by mechanical means, such as by setting objects on the roof. The bumper sticker itself won't hurt the paint, unless you leave it there for a long time, but trying to remove it is very likely to.

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#179

Post by [deleted] »

tw04 wrote: post #147
WalterBright wrote: post #41

If someone drops something in my car, and I unwittingly drive off with it, it is still not mine. But I did not steal it. If the person asks for it back, and I refuse, then I am stealing it. All the police had to do was knock on his door and ask for it back. If he refused, that's grounds for theft. If he denied knowledge of it (like if it had just fallen off somewhere) that doesn't sound like sufficient grounds for a…

So if I put a bumper sticker on your car and walk away, then come back 3 months later and ask for it back and you refuse, then that's stealing? Really? Because I'd say me putting something on your private property is vandalism. And you removing said vandalism is in no way a crime. They didn't have a warrant, and their device wasn't identified as belonging to the authorities. Just because the police vandalized your pr…

[deleted]

Re: Indiana man charged with theft for removing police tracking device from car

#180

Post by bagacrap »

Can the police now run up and strap a camera to my forehead, compelling me to leave it there, allowing them to observe my movements, and charging me with a crime for removing it?

I guess when this happens I have to drop it off at a police station. TIL

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